Luna E-8-5 No.405, also known as Luna Ye-8-5 No.405, and sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1970A, was a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1970. It was a 5600 kilograms (12,345.9 lb) Luna E-8-5 spacecraft, the fifth of eight to be launched. It was intended to perform a soft landing

Soft landing (rocketry)

A soft landing is any type of aircraft or rocket landing that does not result in the destruction of the vehicle or anything onboard. Unlike a hard landing, soft landings are very smooth and steady. They are often called 'good landings' because of the smooth way the aircraft lands....

 on the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

, collect a sample of lunar soil

Lunar soil

Lunar soil is the fine fraction of the regolith found on the surface of the Moon. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil...

, and return it to the Earth.

Luna E-8-5 No.405 was launched at 04:16:06 UTC on 6 February 1970 atop a Proton-K

Proton-K

The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index, 8K82K, is a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and is launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan...

 8K78K carrier rocket with a Blok-D

Block D

Blok D is an upper stage used on Soviet and later Russian expendable launch systems, including the N1, Proton-K and Zenit. There were plans to use it for some other rockets as well ....

 upper stage, flying from Site 81/23

Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81

Site 81 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome is a launch site used, along with Site 200, by Proton rockets. It consists of two launch pads, areas 23 and 24. Area 24 is currently used for Proton-K and Proton-M launches, while Area 23 is currently inactive....

 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome

Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...

. The rocket malfunctioned, and the spacecraft failed to achieve orbit. Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempted sample return mission.